Dennis Morehart, DDS

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Causes of Filling Failure

When patients suffer from tooth decay, Dr. Dennis Morhart’s Enid dental office is ready to help them. Our fillings are aesthetically pleasing and comfortable, but no filling lasts forever. Recently, scientists have conducted research on what causes fillings to fail, and we want our readers to know when they’re at risk.

Scientists are surprised to find that filling failure is associated with certain gene patterns. Therefore, it is especially important for people whose relatives have poor dental health to monitor their old fillings and maintain regular check-ups. But two of the biggest predictive factors were lifestyle related: smoking and alcohol. The scientists examined male smokers and found that their rate of filling failure was higher than that of male non-smokers. They also found that people of both sexes who consume alcohol have higher rates of filling failure. Because losing a filling is painful and potentially dangerous, we hope our patients will do everything they can to prevent this and will come to us if an old filling becomes sensitive or starts to leak. On a positive note, the researchers also found that white-colored composite fillings work just as well as old grey-colored amalgam ones, making these nicer-looking prosthetics a viable dental health option.